The other Barca striker Arsenal and Spurs should consider…

North London rivals Arsenal and Tottenham are both linked with interest in signing out-of-favour Barcelona forward Alexis Sanchez this summer, but should they try for the cheaper Bojan instead?

Both the Gunner and Spurs will likely require additional firepower to their frontlines ahead of next season and they are both reportedly targeting Alexis Sanchez as their ideal candidate.

Sanchez has been strongly linked with a move away from the Camp Nou this summer, after having found it hard to cement a regular place in the Catalans’ first team where he is in competition with the likes of Lionel Messi, David Villa, Pedro, Christian Tello and Cesc Fabregas for his forward position.

He is also currently linked with Liverpool and even a moved to Serie A. However, already playing in Serie A is another Barcelona forward – Bojan is currently on loan at AC Milan this term.

Bojan suffered a similar fate during his time in Catalonia where he grew up through the La Masia academy, appearing for Barcelona B, and then in the first team of Barcelona by the time he was 17 years and 19 days old.

He has already, even now only 22, made a name for himself as something of a record-breaker and one of Spain’s most promising prospects.

He became the young player ever to score a La Liga goal for Barcelona in 2007, then the first person ever to have been born in the 1990’s to score a goal in the Champions League in 2008, along with breaking Raul’s record of the most goals scored in a debut season with his tally of 10 in 2007/08.

That’s quite a fine record – certainly a better record than Alexis Sanchez’. Whilst there is no doubt the Chilean forward possesses exceptional talent, he has seldom expressed himself since his move to the Camp Nou from Udinese in 2011.

Whether that is down to a lack of playing opportunities or simply a lack of form and confidence, I would only be hazarding a guess to say probably both in equal measure have hampered his development.

But the case remains that he has not performed consistently at the highest level. Meanwhile, at the San Siro, Bojan isn’t having much luck, either. Despite being regarded as one of the best talents of his generation, he’s been a little goal-shy this term to say the least.

In 26 appearances for AC Milan, he’s scored just 3 goals and made 3 assists. Perhaps that could be attributed to the fact that, out of those 26, only 10 have been starts and in 6 of those 10, he was substituted off. Basically, he’s played just 4 full 90 minutes games this season.

He’ll likely return to Spain this summer but he won’t find any less competition for his position than when he departed last summer. He won’t find it any easier going to get a start in La Liga than he has in Serie A.

He may reflect that he needs to move elsewhere – he needs to find a club that has a genuine requirement for a striker – a striker with pace, exceptional finishing technique, intelligence, positional awareness and audacity in abundance. I know a couple of clubs that could use his service in North London.

Anyone who wants him could probably pick him up for around £12 million – incidentally around half the price of Alexis Sanchez.

Jenny Leigh

Jennifer is a freelance writer and filmmaker from London with a great passion for football - the game, the business, and the culture. Jennifer hopes to provide readership with a high standard of news, analysis, and opinion over a range of football events, stories, and issues.